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In Daishon Neal's interview on 1620 this morning, his dad was asked about Neal possibly going to Oregon. Neal's dad said "if he was going to Oregon, I would probably only see him one time, at graduation."

This re-emphasizes the point that the 500 mile radius shows. Kids (and their parents) usually want to go to college at schools close to their hometown.

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In Daishon Neal's interview on 1620 this morning, his dad was asked about Neal possibly going to Oregon. Neal's dad said "if he was going to Oregon, I would probably only see him one time, at graduation."

This re-emphasizes the point that the 500 mile radius shows. Kids (and their parents) usually want to go to college at schools close to their hometown.

I believe Daishon's next comment is not the standard attitude but he went on to say that that wasn't important to him.

So, it was important to his Dad but not to him.

In general, I agree with you, location is important and locking down the 500 miles area is also important.

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If there's all this talent in-state and in the 500 mile radius that we've been missing out on, and the new staff says it's their main priority to own the area, why are they spending 90% of their time on the coasts? Shouldn't there be a lot of "local" fallen that's been overlooked to pick up on? I mean, we're offering two-star kids from other places. Aren't there those kind of prospects closer to home?

I agree with Mavric. The 500 mile radius stuff seems to be touted mostly by the media and fans. I just don't see enough talent in our border states to compete for championships.

This year Nebraska managed to get the two best players from Colorado, two great players from Missouri, two Nebraska kids, a top OL from Kansas and we have what, the 35th best recruiting class in the country? Nebraska's recruiting success in Oklahoma and northern Arkansas is going to be limited at best. I just don't see how much better Nebraska could reasonably perform in this area to put themselves over the top.

There are no easy answers to our recruiting problems. Dominating the 500 mile radius is nice and where the core of our class will come from each year, but that geographic reality is exactly what holds Nebraska back.

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"We're going back and saying, 'This appears to be very, very important to us, this Nebraska and (500-mile) radius thing,'" Riley said. "But you can't just live there. You have to be able to go to Georgia, Florida, California, Texas ..."

For instance, "We'll probably have three coaches who will have parts of Texas," he said.

He mentioned Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas.

Riley said he's in the midst of assigning his assistant coaches to particular states.

"And those states we don't cover, we'll have somebody on the adjunct staff -- our interns, scouting department -- who will be responsible to say, 'There's this great defensive lineman at Grant High School in Portland named Ndamukong Suh -- go get him.'"

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"We're going back and saying, 'This appears to be very, very important to us, this Nebraska and (500-mile) radius thing,'" Riley said. "But you can't just live there. You have to be able to go to Georgia, Florida, California, Texas ..."

For instance, "We'll probably have three coaches who will have parts of Texas," he said.

He mentioned Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas.

Riley said he's in the midst of assigning his assistant coaches to particular states.

"And those states we don't cover, we'll have somebody on the adjunct staff -- our interns, scouting department -- who will be responsible to say, 'There's this great defensive lineman at Grant High School in Portland named Ndamukong Suh -- go get him.'"

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According to Rivals rankings, there are 288 four-star recruits in the country. 14 of them are in the 500-mile radius (4.8%)

There are 770 three-star rated recruits. 70 of them are within 500 miles (9.1%)

About 8% of the 1,058 three-star-or-better recruits are in this area. Only 16 are in Nebraska and border states. We have three of them committed already.

To get into the Top 15 recruiting classes, we'll need close to 10 four-star recruits. In 2011 - when we were #15 - we had 11. Three of those were from the 500 mile radius: Klachko, Starling and Reeves.

I just don't think there are enough numbers available to get significantly more recruits from the 500 mile radius than we've been getting over the last 6-8 years.

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According to Rivals rankings, there are 288 four-star recruits in the country. 14 of them are in the 500-mile radius (4.8%)

There are 770 three-star rated recruits. 70 of them are within 500 miles (9.1%)

About 8% of the 1,058 three-star-or-better recruits are in this area. Only 16 are in Nebraska and border states. We have three of them committed already.

To get into the Top 15 recruiting classes, we'll need close to 10 four-star recruits. In 2011 - when we were #15 - we had 11. Three of those were from the 500 mile radius: Klachko, Starling and Reeves.

I just don't think there are enough numbers available to get significantly more recruits from the 500 mile radius than we've been getting over the last 6-8 years.

Correct. There just isn't much talent in the area. The backbone of each class needs to be built in the 500 mile radius, say 5 or 6 players (think Avery Anderson, E. Lee, Neal and the Davis Twins). We're going to have to pluck players out of Texas, California, Virginia and the leftovers from the southeast for the rest of the spots.

Trying to fill a class with more than half of our recruits coming from the 500 mile radius isn't a recipe for success most years. The talent isn't there unless our success rate is even higher.

Not to mention Nebraska just isn't going to have much success in places like Oklahoma and Arkansas most of the time.

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According to Rivals rankings, there are 288 four-star recruits in the country. 14 of them are in the 500-mile radius (4.8%)

There are 770 three-star rated recruits. 70 of them are within 500 miles (9.1%)

About 8% of the 1,058 three-star-or-better recruits are in this area. Only 16 are in Nebraska and border states. We have three of them committed already.

To get into the Top 15 recruiting classes, we'll need close to 10 four-star recruits. In 2011 - when we were #15 - we had 11. Three of those were from the 500 mile radius: Klachko, Starling and Reeves.

I just don't think there are enough numbers available to get significantly more recruits from the 500 mile radius than we've been getting over the last 6-8 years.

Correct. There just isn't much talent in the area. The backbone of each class needs to be built in the 500 mile radius, say 5 or 6 players (think Avery Anderson, E. Lee, Neal and the Davis Twins). We're going to have to pluck players out of Texas, California, Virginia and the leftovers from the southeast for the rest of the spots.

Trying to fill a class with more than half of our recruits coming from the 500 mile radius isn't a recipe for success most years. The talent isn't there unless our success rate is even higher.

Not to mention Nebraska just isn't going to have much success in places like Oklahoma and Arkansas most of the time.

I also think that this stat is a bit biased on Rivals part. Just look at the comparison of the top 100 in GA vs. B1G footprint that Sam McKewon put out the other day. You can't tell me that the state of GA has more talent by itself than a group of states that are more than 1/5 of the states in the Union.

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According to Rivals rankings, there are 288 four-star recruits in the country. 14 of them are in the 500-mile radius (4.8%)

There are 770 three-star rated recruits. 70 of them are within 500 miles (9.1%)

About 8% of the 1,058 three-star-or-better recruits are in this area. Only 16 are in Nebraska and border states. We have three of them committed already.

To get into the Top 15 recruiting classes, we'll need close to 10 four-star recruits. In 2011 - when we were #15 - we had 11. Three of those were from the 500 mile radius: Klachko, Starling and Reeves.

I just don't think there are enough numbers available to get significantly more recruits from the 500 mile radius than we've been getting over the last 6-8 years.

Correct. There just isn't much talent in the area. The backbone of each class needs to be built in the 500 mile radius, say 5 or 6 players (think Avery Anderson, E. Lee, Neal and the Davis Twins). We're going to have to pluck players out of Texas, California, Virginia and the leftovers from the southeast for the rest of the spots.

Trying to fill a class with more than half of our recruits coming from the 500 mile radius isn't a recipe for success most years. The talent isn't there unless our success rate is even higher.

Not to mention Nebraska just isn't going to have much success in places like Oklahoma and Arkansas most of the time.

You're basing this off of Rivals rankings? So, you believe their rankings when they say Georgia alone has more talent than all the states included in the 500 mile radius?

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Here is the current activity of Nebraska with Rivals Top250 2016 recruits in the 500 mile radius. Of the 11, one is committed (John Raridon, who committed under Bo) and six others have offers (though only AJ Taylor received his by the current staff). The offers have been to OL Ben Bredeson, DE Josh King, OL John Raridon, DE Amani Bledsoe, AJ Taylor, OL Matt Farniok, and OL Sean Foster,. Here is a quick run down of the level of interest by those offered (this list is somewhat from most to least interested).

John Raridon - 6'4" 280 lbs OL West Des Moines, IA

Raridon committed to the Husker back in September and effectively shutdown his recruit since. His interest is clear, so moving on.

Matt Farniok - 6'5" 308 lbs OL Sioux Falls, SD

Farniok has shown a lot of interest, visiting Nebraska for BRW last year, an unofficial for the Miami game, and the Meet-and-Greet with this new staff in January. Farniok is garnering nation-wide interest, so this will be a dog fight. Still, Riley needs this win.

A.J. Taylor - 5'11" 190 lbs RB Kansas City, MO

Taylor is the only recruit on this list to receive an offer from the Riley staff. He is at Rockhurst HS, same as current Huskers Michael Rose and Zach Hannon. Taylor visited for the Miami game and has tentative plans to visit for the spring game. He has garnered lots of attention, specifically from Wisconsin, Northwestern, Missouri and Kansas State. He clearly knows about Nebraska and its tradition, so I would say Nebraska is in the mix but will have to turn up the recruitment, as Taylor says he has not heard a lot from them. Taylor has talked about making a summer decision.

Amani Bledsoe - 6'5" 265 lbs DE Lawrence, KS

Bledsoe has shown a lot of interest in the past, already visiting Nebraska twice last year (a campus visit and unofficial for the Miami game), but Oklahoma is pushing hard here. Bledsoe "slowed down" his recruiting process earlier in the year and could be a senior year commit somewhere. I have not heard about much conversation from either side since Riley took over. However, like Farniok, I would think this is a must get if Riley is trying to maintain a foothold in the 500 mile radius.

Sean Foster - 6'8" 285 lbs OT Mundelein, IL

Foster received his first offer from Nebraska, under Bo's tenure. There was a connection as Bo and Sean's father were at Iowa at the same time. Despite all that, on Monday, Foster released a Top 5 of Purdue, Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. However, he rescinded that later in the day. I would put Nebraska in the low interest column.

Ben Bredeson - 6'4" 280 lbs OL Hartland, WI

Bredeson is an easy "No", with a top list of Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio St, and Wisconsin. Moving on.

Josh King - 6'6" 230 lbs DE Darien, IL

For King, it appears his top list is Michigan, Ohio St, Notre Dame, Michigan St, and Iowa. Also, it has been ghost with Riley's staff and King.

Here is a quick recruitment breakdown of the 4 without Nebraska offers. Two are committed (OL Erik Swenson (Downers Grove, IL) is committed to Michigan and RB Kentrail Moran (O'Fallon, IL) is committed to Illinois). OLB/DE Carlo Kemp (Boulder, CO) is more quite than most recruits but seems to only be getting interest from the West Coast. WR TJ Vasher (Wichita Falls, TX) is getting looks from Texas Tech, SMU, and Ohio St (though he does not have a leader).

Of this Top11 in the 500 mile radius, I would say our best chances of landing additional commitments would come from AJ Taylor, Amani Bledsoe, and Matt Farniok. The Non-competes are Ben Bredeson, Josh King, Naquan Jones, Erick Swenson, and Kentrail Moran. Sean Foster is up in the air (but unlikely). As for Carlo Kemp and TJ Vasher, neither have been getting much interest from Nebraska, so don't hold your breath.

The only other four star recruits that are not on the list of Rivals Top250 2016 recruits falling the 500 mile radius are DT Naquan Jones and LB Tuf Borland. Here are are some thoughts about their recruitment as well.

Naquan Jones - 6'4" 286 lbs DT Evanston, IL

Like Taylor, Jones received his offer from the Riley staff. However, I don't see Nebraska getting his services. Jones has a top list of Ohio State, South Carolina, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin, with interest reciprocated by at least Ohio St and Michigan.

Tuf Borland - 6'1" 215 lbs LB Bolingbrook, IL

LB Tuf Borland (Bolingbrook, IL; yes, of that Borland clan) has a Top 3 of Northwestern, Ohio St, and Wisconsin. Wisconsin Legacy. No chance.

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Apparently we need to be locking down the #100MileRadius a little bit better.

It's really not fair to say that...

In the end, no matter how hard our coaches go out and recruit, it's up to a 17-18 year old kid whether or not we lock down the radius... We have seen some serious dedication from this staff to recruiting. I mean, how many times did Xavier, Fant & Bubak visit campus? How many times did we go visit them? You can't fault the staff when they are hot on their heels and just not landing them... Part of it has to do with what has happened with previous staff(s)...

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The staff has done a little better outside the 500 mile radius after landing Q. Alexander and Dismuke. It seems Nebraska will miss out on Xavier Kelly, Fant and Bubak. They can still manage to do well if a guy like Amani Bledsoe commits.

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The previous staffs' efforts (or lack thereof) and the fact that these kids were like 2 the last time we won a conference title are the biggest reasons why we are having some trouble locking down this area.

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Bubak made it pretty clear in the world herald article that he only reached out to ASU when he didn't hear from our new coaching staff for 6 weeks. For all the talk about our new focus on recruiting and locking down local kids, that doesn't look real good.

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Bubak made it pretty clear in the world herald article that he only reached out to ASU when he didn't hear from our new coaching staff for 6 weeks. For all the talk about our new focus on recruiting and locking down local kids, that doesn't look real good.

But that was when our coaching staff was just hired and had very little time to save the 2015 class. The instate coaches have been far more adiment that this coaching staff is head over heels more involved.

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If they really didn't contact the kid for six weeks, then that's a grevious oversight regardless of their other responsibilities. Phone calls to all current commits seems like a pretty basic move. If this is the worst mistake these coaches make, we'll obviously be fine. I just think it's funny given all the hype about how polished and organized the new staff is.

That said, if NU is your home town dream school, I don't know how you pass on them, regardless of the lack of communication.

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Bubak made it pretty clear in the world herald article that he only reached out to ASU when he didn't hear from our new coaching staff for 6 weeks. For all the talk about our new focus on recruiting and locking down local kids, that doesn't look real good.

But that was when our coaching staff was just hired and had very little time to save the 2015 class. The instate coaches have been far more adiment that this coaching staff is head over heels more involved.

While I get that they were in a rush and busy, it takes 5-10 seconds to send out a text.

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Bubak made it pretty clear in the world herald article that he only reached out to ASU when he didn't hear from our new coaching staff for 6 weeks. For all the talk about our new focus on recruiting and locking down local kids, that doesn't look real good.

But that was when our coaching staff was just hired and had very little time to save the 2015 class. The instate coaches have been far more adiment that this coaching staff is head over heels more involved.

While I get that they were in a rush and busy, it takes 5-10 seconds to send out a text.

All he said in the article was he didn't know where he stood for about 6 weeks and began looking around just in case. Then his coach stated Neb has been in regular contact and recruiting him hard. I think he just fell in love with the spread O.

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Bubak made it pretty clear in the world herald article that he only reached out to ASU when he didn't hear from our new coaching staff for 6 weeks. For all the talk about our new focus on recruiting and locking down local kids, that doesn't look real good.

But that was when our coaching staff was just hired and had very little time to save the 2015 class. The instate coaches have been far more adiment that this coaching staff is head over heels more involved.

While I get that they were in a rush and busy, it takes 5-10 seconds to send out a text.

All he said in the article was he didn't know where he stood for about 6 weeks and began looking around just in case. Then his coach stated Neb has been in regular contact and recruiting him hard. I think he just fell in love with the spread O.

Sounds like Bubak was a causality of the coaching change. If the new staff were not preoccupied with the 2015 class, Bubak would not have started looking around.

I remember the Riley staff ignoring most of our commits for several weeks, including the 2015 class, while they were looking for new commits. Also, they waited until the finished there cross-country recruiting tour before recruiting in Nebraska. That strategy worked to land some of our 2015 signees out of state, but it lead to some decommits, which includes Bubak.

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If they really didn't contact the kid for six weeks, then that's a grevious oversight regardless of their other responsibilities. Phone calls to all current commits seems like a pretty basic move. If this is the worst mistake these coaches make, we'll obviously be fine. I just think it's funny given all the hype about how polished and organized the new staff is.

That said, if NU is your home town dream school, I don't know how you pass on them, regardless of the lack of communication.

I can agree with this statement.

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Bubak made it pretty clear in the world herald article that he only reached out to ASU when he didn't hear from our new coaching staff for 6 weeks. For all the talk about our new focus on recruiting and locking down local kids, that doesn't look real good.

But that was when our coaching staff was just hired and had very little time to save the 2015 class. The instate coaches have been far more adiment that this coaching staff is head over heels more involved.

While I get that they were in a rush and busy, it takes 5-10 seconds to send out a text.

All he said in the article was he didn't know where he stood for about 6 weeks and began looking around just in case. Then his coach stated Neb has been in regular contact and recruiting him hard. I think he just fell in love with the spread O.

Sounds like Bubak was a causality of the coaching change. If the new staff were not preoccupied with the 2015 class, Bubak would not have started looking around.

I remember the Riley staff ignoring most of our commits for several weeks, including the 2015 class, while they were looking for new commits. Also, they waited until the finished there cross-country recruiting tour before recruiting in Nebraska. That strategy worked to land some of our 2015 signees out of state, but it lead to some decommits, which includes Bubak.

Isn't Bubak our only decommit so far, or am I forgetting someone else?